BAC NINH, Vietnam—The men’s doubles gold medal match of tennis at the Southeast Asian Games will be another showdown between the same Filipino protagonists who figured in the final three years ago in Subic.
Jeson Patrombon and Francis Casey Alcantara scored a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Vietnam’s Quoc Khan Le and Văn Phuong Nguyen to set up a return duel with Ruben Gonzales and Treat Huey.
Gonzales and Huey eliminated another Vietnamese pair, Giang Trinh Linh and Mihn Tuan Pham, 6-4, 6-2, in the other semifinal on Friday at the Hanaka Sports and Service Center.
The gold medal match is set on Saturday.
“We are now assured of a gold and a silver in the men’s doubles again,” men’s tennis coach Chris Cuarto said. “It’s really a big relief for the team despite all the difficulties we encountered in Manila.”
Top seed Alex Eala, however, settled for a bronze medal after losing to fourth-seeded Thai Luksika Kumkhum, 4-6, 1-6, in the women’s singles semifinals.
“For Alex, there’s still a lot to learn and more SEA Games tournaments to play,” Cuarto said of the 16-year-old rising star. “It’s going to be her time soon,”
Eala and Huey settled for the bronze medal on Thursday night after losing to Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro and Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-3, 6-3, 10-4, in the mixed doubles semifinals.
